ABSTRACT
As a final look at the impacts of land uses in the ancient world, we turn to the extractive industries. Although extraction of flint would have been widespread in the Palaeolithic world, its impact would have been very localized. The same is probably the case for obsidian in the later Palaeolithic and Neolithic periods, although it could be argued that its social role had far more significant repercussions. From the later Neolithic, the extraction of metals for use in tools and other material goods started to develop. These extractive industries would go on to have significant direct and indirect impacts on the landscape of the region.
